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FC Cincinnati forward Fanendo Adi (9) fights for a ball in the second half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma (45) kisses the ball after being called for a foul in the second half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Nashville SC goalkeeper Matt Pickens (18) collects a cross before FC Cincinnati forward Fanendo Adi (9) can get to it in the second half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Corben Bone (19) scores on a shot from just outside the penalty box in the first extra period during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Tyler Gibson (4) takes a shot on goal in the first extra time period during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Corben Bone (19), center, celebrates a goal with teammates in the first extra time period during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Tyler Gibson (4) takes a shot on goal in the first extra time period during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma (45) wins a challenge in the second extra time during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Jimmy McLaughlin (20) brings the ball upfield in the second extra time period during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Spencer Richey (18) cannot teach a game-tying goal in the second extra time period during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma (45) reacts after the game-tying goal in the second extra time period during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati fans cheer on the team after the 6-5 penalty shooutout win during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

in the second half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. FC Cincinnati won 6-5 on penalties. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati line up for the national anthem before the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati fans listen to the national anthem before the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati forward Fanendo Adi (9) argues with the referee in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Nashville SC forward Tucker Hume (12) is taken down by FC Cincinnati defender Patrick Barrett (29) in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati defender Justin Hoyte (32) goes up for a challenge in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma (45) looks out onto the field before a corner kick in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati midfielder Corben Bone (19) goes up for a challenge against and Nashville SC midfielder Kosuke Kimura (27) in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati defender Forrest Lasso (3) goes up for a head challenge against Nashville SC forward Tucker Hume (12) in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch instructs the team in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC are introduced before the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati Justin Hoyte (32) traps the ball in the penalty box in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati Fatai Alashe (27) wins a head challenge in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

FC Cincinnati forward Fanendo Adi (9) is unable to reach a long pass inside the penalty box in the first half during a USL soccer playoff game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati,Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer

Exhale, Cincinnati. It's over and your club did it – they advanced in the playoffs.

Futbol Club Cincinnati survived 120 minutes of agonizingly close soccer and a breathless penalty-kick shootout to advance past Nashville SC in the USL Cup playoffs Saturday at Nippert Stadium before a tense crowd of 20,217.

Kenney Walker ended the nearly year-long stalemate with Nashville that played out over five matches with a successful penalty kick to send Cincinnati through to the USL Cup semifinals, which will be played next Saturday at Nippert (4 p.m.).

Cincinnati won the shootout, 6-5, after the fifth draw between the clubs this year dating back to preseason.

"I said to our players all week long, said to them before the game tonight, said to them at the end of the game tonight, it doesn't matter if you win in 90 minutes, 120 minutes, penalty kicks, a sixth penalty shootout, as long as you win," FC Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch said. "I thought we deserved to win (after) 90 minutes. I thought we deserved to win after 120 minutes. Penalty kicks are a lottery. I'm glad we won and we move on to the next round."

FC Cincinnati will next face the winner of Saturday night's playoff match between fourth-seeded Charleston Battery and fifth-seeded New York Red Bulls II.

In keeping with the short history between FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC, Saturday was a back-and-forth tussle with both teams wresting control for long periods.

The opening 25 or so minutes went decidedly for Cincinnati, but the hosts couldn't bag an opening goal.

The second half saw Nashville take the majority of the close chances, but goalkeeper Spencer Richey was equal to the task as he made five crucial saves from threatening situations.

“I took this week the exact same way that I have taken every week the last two months where I had a feeling I was going to play on the weekend," Richey said. "You’re going to have an extra five, 10 percent of heightened senses as Alan calls them. In games like this, I feel like it’s even more important to just be easy and just chilling before the game. That was kind of my mindset before: just be loose and play with confidence and luckily I was able to make a few saves tonight.”

Come extra time, Cincinnati finally broke through via Corben Bone. He scored in the 95th minute. The moment was celebrated like it had clinched the victory, but that was far from the case.

With celebratory confetti still blowing in the stiff breeze that prevailed the entire match, a Nashville goal from Bradley Bourgeois sucked the life out of Nippert. With just minutes left to play, penalty kicks seemed an inevitability.

Cincinnati was unfazed by the manner in which extra time ended, though. With Koch scripting the first five Cincinnati penalty takers, each converted confidently as Fanendo Adi, Jimmy McLaughlin, Blake Smith, Justin Hoyte, and Forrest Lasso left no doubt on their kicks.

Walker called his own number and took charge of kick No. 6.

He did that midway through the shootout and would later watch Nashville's Justin Davis sky the visitors' sixth kick high over Richey's net, leaving him with a chance to close out the win.

With the wind and trash whipping around in the horseshoe end of Nippert, and after several FC Cincinnati players mistakenly started celebrating the win prematurely after Davis' miss, Walker had to tune out a lot in order to focus on his kick.

"I started walking and then the other guys started sprinting," Walker said. "I was like, 'I've still gotta kick it' but I don't know. It was a little added pressure, but at the same time, you’ve got to go out and score. Either you pick your spot and put it there and he saves it, or you beat him to your spot. That’s as simple as you can put it. There’s still pressure on it. So for me, I missed one earlier on in the season and this one I put in the back of the net.”

Walker's spot was low and hard to the right. Pickens dove hard to the left. The net bulged and within seconds, yet another memorable Nippert night was etched in the story of FC Cincinnati.

"Penalty shootouts are an absolute lottery because anything can happen," Koch said. "There's lots of gamesmanship that happens during the course of that. I thought Nashville were trying all sorts of things. Our players were composed. They were very relaxed. Spencer obviously made the save that we needed. If a player shoots over, the goalkeeper still made the save. There's a lot of work that go into that. Our five players that took the first five penalty kicks were really composed. Obviously, (shooting second) is not easy. And then Kenney – that's a brave young man."

• Danni König has been ruled out from the quarterfinal match against Nashville, the club said prior to the match. König returned to Denmark this week to deal with a personal issue. The club did not provide a timetable for his return.